Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - August 8, 2024, Winnipeg, Manitoba THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2024 A2 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM NEWS VOL 153 NO 226 Winnipeg Free Press est 1872 / Winnipeg Tribune est 1890 2024 Winnipeg Free Press, a division of FP Canadian Newspapers Limited Partnership. Published six days a week in print and always online at 1355 Mountain Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba R2X 3B6, PH: 204-697-7000 CEO / MIKE POWER Editor / PAUL SAMYN Associate Editor Enterprise / SCOTT GIBBONS Associate Editor News / STACEY THIDRICKSON Associate Editor Digital News / WENDY SAWATZKY Director Photo and Multimedia / MIKE APORIUS NEWSMEDIA COUNCIL The Winnipeg Free Press is a member of the National Newsmedia Council, which is an independent organization established to determine acceptable journalistic practices and ethical behaviour. If you have concerns about editorial content, please send them to: editorialconcerns@freepress.mb.ca. 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INSIDE Arts and Life C1 Classifieds D8 Comics C5 Diversions C6-7 Horoscope C6 Jumble C6 Miss Lonelyhearts C6 Opinion A6-7 Sports D1 Television C4 Weather B8 COLUMNISTS: Niigaan Sinclair A5 Shannon Sampert A7 Gwynne Dyer A7 READER SERVICE ● GENERAL INQUIRIES 204-697-7000 CIRCULATION INQUIRIES MISSING OR INCOMPLETE PAPER? Call or email before 10 a.m. weekdays or 11 a.m. Saturday City: 204-697-7001 Outside Winnipeg: 1-800-542-8900 press 1 6:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. Monday-Friday.; 7 a.m. - noon Saturday; Closed Sunday TO SUBSCRIBE: 204-697-7001 Out of Winnipeg: 1-800-542-8900 The Free Press receives support from the Local Journalism Initiative funded by the Government of Canada “A lot of people, a lot of clients, prob- ably aren’t even looking at that amount of custody on their charges, depending on their circumstances,” she said. A spokesperson for Shared Health said progress has been made on the file: the median wait time for an assessment of criminal responsibility currently sits at 83 days, down from 114 days in 2022. There are currently seven psychiatrists able to make foren- sic assessments in Manitoba. “Over the past 10 years, the de- mand for court-ordered psychiatric assessments has nearly quadrupled in volume,” the spokesperson said in an email Wednesday. The time needed to assess whether a person is fit to stand trial is consid- erably shorter, a median of 10 days, Shared Health said. In September, an eighth psychiatrist will be added to the roster of those who can carry out assessments. New technology has been introduced to the criminal responsibility assess- ment process that allows some aspects of it to be done virtually, and a case co-ordinator has been brought on to make the workflow move faster, the spokesperson said. Other ways to reduce wait times “are also being actively explored.” Justice Minister Matt Wiebe said Wednesday the issue is on the govern- ment’s radar. “Under the previous government, the wait times for psychiatric assessments were far too long, contributing to the overall problem of court delays,” he said in an email. “We are taking action, working in partnership with health professionals and the judiciary, to make our courts more efficient and ensure that all Man- itobans have access to justice.” One option is for an accused to pay for a private forensic report, but Ma- honey said finding a forensic psychia- trist or psychologist in Manitoba who is able to conduct the assessment is difficult and costly. “We are, at this point, using out-of- province doctors in Ontario, largely. I understand that other counsel have been using out-of-country doctors … people are really branching out,” she said. In July, defence lawyers for Jeremy Skibicki hired a forensic psychiatrist from the U.K. to testify during his Winnipeg trial, in which he argued he wasn’t criminally responsible for slay- ing four women. He was later found guilty on all counts. In a current case at the law firm where Mahoney works, a doctor provided an assessment that took 56 hours, at a rate of $350 per hour. The bill is just shy of $20,000. The persistent shortage of space at PX3, the locked 15-bed psychiatric ward at Health Sciences Centre, has exacerbated the problem. Mahoney said the beds are used for “medical management” of anyone in custody who’s unwell, leaving little space for assessments of criminal responsibility or fitness to stand trial. Mahoney called the delays an “ac- cess to justice” issue — most clients can’t afford to pay for an out-of-prov- ince professional and Legal Aid Man- itoba can’t afford to fund it in every case — meaning the amount of time an accused sits in jail waiting for an assessment depends on their income level. “A lot of the clients waiting for these assessments are in custody because the Crown is opposed to their release, because they appear to be high risk and they don’t have mental health resources. We just don’t have enough information,” she said. “So they’re not just waiting and getting these extensions time and time again, but they haven’t even been able to apply for bail or haven’t been able to secure bail. They’re sitting waiting in custody.” Pollock agreed. “I have clients that are mentally unwell who are waiting for a fitness assessment and they’re waiting too long and they’re not waiting at St. Boniface (Hospital) … they’re waiting in an incarcerating institution where their liberties are severely, severely restricted.” malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca If confirmed, the cross-border foray would be among Ukraine’s largest since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022 and unprecedented for its deployment of Ukrainian military units. Kyiv’s aim could be to draw Russian reserves to the area, potentially weak- ening Moscow’s offensive operations in several parts of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region where Russian forces have increased attacks and are advanc- ing gradually toward operationally significant gains. But it could risk stretching out- manned Ukrainian troops further along the front line, which is more than 1,000 kilometres long. Even if Russia were to commit re- serves to stabilize the new front, given its vast manpower and the relatively small number of Ukrainian forces en- gaged in the operation, it would likely have little long-term impact. However, the operation could boost Ukrainian morale at a time when Kyiv’s forces are facing relentless Russian attacks and are expected to face more in coming weeks. Several Ukrainian brigades sta- tioned along the border region said they could not comment. Ukraine’s Defense Ministry and General Staff said they would not comment. Russian forces have swiftly repelled previous cross-border incursions, but not before they caused damage and embarrassed authorities. The Russian Defense Ministry said Tuesday that up to 300 Ukrainian troops, supported by 11 tanks and more than 20 armoured combat vehicles, had crossed into Russia and suffered heavy losses. It said Wednesday that military and border guard troops “continued to destroy Ukrainian military units in the areas alongside the border in the Kursk region.” The ministry said Russian forces backed by artillery and warplanes “didn’t allow the enemy to advance deeper into the territory of the Russian Federation.” Open-source monitors have also not been able to verify the claims. The U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War could not verify whether damaged and abandoned armoured vehicles shown in geolocated video seven kilometres north of the border west of Lyubimovka in the Kursk region were Ukrainian. The think tank also cast doubt on video shared by Russian military bloggers claiming to show the after- math of the Ukrainian raids. Most of the damage shown “appears to be the result of routine Ukrainian shelling and does not indicate that there was ground activity in the area,” it said in its daily report. Responsibility for previous incur- sions into Russia’s Belgorod and Bry- ansk regions has been claimed by two groups: the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Freedom of Russia Legion, which are made up of Russian citizens and have fought alongside Ukrainian forces. Some Russian war bloggers who have proved knowledgeable about the war said that Ukrainian soldiers were in Kursk. Rybar, a Telegram channel run by Mikhail Zvinchuk, a retired Russian Defense Ministry press officer, said Ukrainian troops had seized three set- tlements in the region and continued to fight their way deeper in. It also said that Ukrainian forces captured the Sudzha gas transit station, about eight kilometres from the border. Russian officials have not confirmed the gains. Another pro-Kremlin military blog, Two Majors, claimed that Ukrainian troops had advanced up to 15 kilome- tres into the region. Neither claim could be independently verified. The Kursk region’s border with Ukraine is 245 kilometres long, mak- ing it possible for saboteur groups to launch swift incursions and capture some ground before Russia deploys reinforcements. — The Associated Press In the spring, Imperial Oil suddenly closed off Winnipeg’s gasoline, diesel and jet fuel lifeline in southern Manitoba for two months in order to do re- pairs. Although Manitoba ended up sourcing fuel from Western Canada, Burgum helped with contingency plans and identify- ing potential supplies. “He was personally involved and put his office into the mix to help us in our time of need,” Kinew said. “It was an important sign that he’s a good neighbour and an ally … I think that would be an important asset for us to turn to because of his familiarity and his history with working with our province.” In 2021, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, former Progressive Conservative pre- mier Brian Pallister inducted Burgum into the Order of the Buffalo Hunt for his support vaccinating Manitoba-based truck drivers in North Dakota, noted Kelvin Goertzen, who was a member of Pallister’s cabinet. Manitoba’s premiers in the last 30 years have recognized the importance of building alliances with neighbouring states, the member for Steinbach said. “It’s really important for premiers to be connected with those governors, because often the president sees those gover- nors as their equals; that’s who they end up dealing with a lot,” said Goertzen, who served on the Canada-U.S. relations committee for 10 years. “I think that it bodes well for Manitoba and Canada having both of those governors likely to play a significant role … whoev- er wins the election.” carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca WALZ ● FROM A1 PSYCH ● FROM A1 UKRAINE ● FROM A1 GOVERNOR OF KURSK / TELEGRAM A house sits damaged after alleged shelling by the Ukrainian side in the city of Sudzha, in the Kursk region of Russia. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS “I have clients that are mentally unwell who are waiting for a fitness assessment and they’re waiting too long and they’re not waiting at St. Boniface (Hospital) … they’re waiting in an incarcerating institution where their liberties are severely, severely restricted,” lawyer Ethan Pollock said. Ex-president had glowing praise for Minnesota governor Trump on Walz: ‘an excellent guy’ M INNEAPOLIS — While former President Donald Trump and running mate JD Vance have been hammering Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz over his response to the violence that erupted after George Floyd’s mur- der, Trump told the governor at the time that he fully agreed with how Walz handled it. “What they did in Minneapolis was incredible. They went in and domin- ated and it happened immediately,” Trump told Walz and other governors and officials in a phone call on June 1, 2020. The Associated Press on Wednes- day obtained an audio recording of the call, which has taken on new signifi- cance now that Walz has been tapped as Vice-President Kamala Harris’ run- ning mate against Trump and Vance. Other administration officials on the call included defence secretary Mark Esper; Army Gen. Mark Milley, chair- man of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and at- torney general William Barr. ABC News reported on the call earli- er Wednesday, a day after Harris intro- duced Walz as her vice-presidential pick. Protests erupted in Minneapolis and around the world after Floyd was murdered by Derek Chauvin, a white former officer who knelt on the Black man’s neck for nearly 9 ½ minutes, on May 25, 2020. His death forced a reck- oning with police brutality and racism. Some of the protests turned violent. Walz mobilized the Minnesota Na- tional Guard three days later to help restore order to Minneapolis after rioting that included the burning of a police station and numerous business- es. Trump offered federal help to Walz later that day, but the governor did not take him up on it. During a May 2024 fundraiser in St. Paul, Trump repeated a claim he had been making lately that he was respon- sible for deploying the National Guard. “The entire city was burning down. … If you didn’t have me as president, you wouldn’t have Minneapolis today,” Trump told a Republican audience. It was actually Walz who gave the mobilization order in response to re- quests from the mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Walz came under criticism at the time for not moving faster. There was finger-pointing between Minneap- olis Mayor Jacob Frey and Walz on who bore responsibility for the delays. Trump, in the June 1, 2020, call, de- scribed Walz as “an excellent guy” and later said: “Tim, you called up big num- bers and the big numbers knocked them out so fast, it was like bowling pins.” But Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt put a different spin on the call on Wednesday. “Governor Walz allowed Minneap- olis to burn for days, despite President Trump’s offer to deploy soldiers and cries for help from the liberal Mayor of Minneapolis,” Leavitt said. “In this daily briefing phone call with Gov- ernors on June 1, days after the riots began, President Trump acknowledged Governor Walz for FINALLY taking action to deploy the National Guard to end the violence in the city.” Walz did thank Trump on the call, as well as Esper and Milley, “for your stra- tegic guidance, very helpful.… Yeah, our city is grieving and in pain.” — The Associated Press STEVE KARNOWSKI AND DAN MERICA ;